


Survival

by FarieWithAWandAndTardis



Series: Severus Snape Prompts [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Mostly Fluff, Nagini is mentioned in passing, Severus Snape Lives, Voldemort is only mentioned, as is Dumbledore, non-canon compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:26:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27735295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FarieWithAWandAndTardis/pseuds/FarieWithAWandAndTardis
Summary: Severus Snape is presented with a gift. He thinks about what it means.
Series: Severus Snape Prompts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1618045
Comments: 6
Kudos: 6





	Survival

**Author's Note:**

  * For [anti_ela](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anti_ela/gifts).



"Snape, I have something for you," Potter told him as he entered the Headmaster's office. 

"What is is?" Severus asked, casting a status charm on the potion he was currently working on. He had yet to find the correct combination of ingredients that would rid him of his scars. Severus paused, looking Potter over as he set a vial on his desk. Something was off about the man in front of him. Something was missing. 

\--

Potions were the single consistent thing in Severus Snape's life. No matter what he was doing, or what was happening to him, he could always turn to them. Between the precision and concentration needed to not blow things up, and the ability to improve potions as he worked, there was hardly a moment for him to think of other things. 

Things like the raised scars left from where Nagini had torn his throat to shreds at the Dark Lord's command. Severus knew he had been lucky enough to make it out alive (who thought he was stupid enough to be around Nagini without anti-venom?), but there was little to nothing that anyone could do to heal the scars. Not even him, and he had tried. He had tried known potions, he had improved the known potions - he had even created new potions in an attempt to get rid of them, and yet the scars remained as raised as they had been the day the healers had removed the bandages. Of course he was thankful that they weren't an angry red anymore, and it didn't hurt nearly as much to talk as it had the first few days after he woke up. 

In fact, if Severus wore high collars and spoke slowly enough, he could pretend that Nagani had never bit him. Until he looked in the mirror that is. Or until Harry Potter was in the same room with him, staring at him with apology-filled eyes. It was only a matter of which would occur first.

Potter had yet to come out and actually say the words, but Severus was smart enough to know that it was implied when he thought about the things that Potter had done for him in the five years since the war. Saving his life and testifying at his trial were the two biggest ways that Severus could tell that Potter was sorry. He had been the only one besides Draco and the other Death Eaters that knew what happened in the astronomy tower that night. Seeing how Potter, Draco, and he were the only ones that were still alive it was relatively simple for Potter to do what he had done. Neither Draco nor Severus was going to go against him. And no one was going to disbelieve the Man-Who-Defeated-the-Dark-Lord when he said that he had known without a doubt that the two men who killed Dumbledore had been using Polyjuice potion to impersonate Draco and Severus, as the real ones would have taunted him about what they had done until that had no other choice _but_ to run. 

Potter had outright lied to the jurors and _had gotten away with it_. They weren't going to risk him taking away his political support by distrusting him and having him drink Veritaserum to prove that he was telling the truth. Of course, it also didn't hurt that Potter had both Rita Skeeter and Xenophilius Lovegood supporting him.

This hadn't ended his support of Severus either. Hogwarts had still recognized him as Headmaster, and Potter had been the one to ensure that he got his position back after healing as completely as he could. Even if he had received the position under strenuous circumstances, he had enjoyed it - enjoyed being able to help the students, and keeping them safe - all while having the time to work on potion creations of his own. 

\--

Severus looked at the potion in front of him and for a moment didn't register what Potter was offering until he looked up at his face again. "Why?" Severus asked.

"Because you deserve it," ~~Potter~~ Harry told him, shrugging his shoulders and heading back towards the door to leave. 

The potion was one that Harry had created himself, and tested on himself - an incredibly stupid thing to do if you ask Severus. But it had worked. The two most magical scars of Harry's were missing, and Severus realized that had been what he noted as being off about the man. The scar on his forehead that had identified him since he had been a year old was no longer there. It was as if it and the scar on his forearm had never been there to begin with. The scar from the basilisk is what intrigued him the most though. A magical snake had left it, and Harry had gotten rid of it. If it had worked on a thousand-year-old-basilisk induced scar, did that mean it would work on the scar from Nagini?

"How much?" he choked out before Harry could leave the room completely.

"It's free."

Severus couldn't respond as Harry closed the door behind him, his sleeves rolled up for the first time since he was twelve. Picking up the vial, Severus almost laughed as he read the ingredients scrawled on the label. Of course phoenix tears and aloe vera would be on the list.

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy dear!!
> 
> -Farie


End file.
